>Which period of the U.C. timeline is this manga set in? Can anyone provide a
>brief description of it? Thanks.
>
>Jorge

Kondo's own words, written as an intro for the manga:

"This work is a story that takes place between the ZZ Gundam TV series and
Char's Counterattack movie. Mobile suits such as Zakus and more were given
my own special treatment in their presentation. My hope is to bring readers
the charms of Gundam via experiencing a 'senki'." (Ed: it literally translates
to "war chronicle", but within the context it is meant to be a field
documentary)

Prologue:

"After the death of vice commander Hamman Khan, Zeon's leadership began to
falter; supply of weapons and ammo to the remaining forces on earth have been
stopped, causing battles everywhere to become more and more critical.
U.C. 0092, the scattered Zeon forces decided to withdraw from the earth.
This story illustrates the tracks of their tragic yet heroic retreating
battle."

There were over a dozen pages containing sketches, team squad logo/crests,
and line arts on Kondo's treatment/deformation of classic suits from the
first 3 TV series, plus his infamous Goblin. Most of these designs feature
huge skirts and tiny limbs. The best way to describe the proportions of a
Kondo MS is: take a 1/144 scale kit, attach its limbs to a 1/100 scale torso,
then affix 1/60 scale skirt armor. I've always wondered how mobile would a
MS with such a massive body and tiny limbs be. They must look hilarious
when they run.

Like Kondo admitted in his own intro, the manga is basically plot-free and
takes a documentary approach. More "The Thin Red Line" than "Saving Private
Ryan" in its narrative. Hardware and WW2 fans will find the manga very
interesting, but if you got into Gundam because of its story and characters,
this manga will probably bore you to tears. Kondo's characters here look
better than the ones he did for Zeta or 0079, mainly because he was not
restricted to any pre-designed characters, and was free to borrow from
photographs of WW2 soldiers.

Zeon fans will be happy to see the Sazabi blow away the prototype Nu Gundam
towards the end of the manga, thereby slowing the R&D of Amuro's Nu Gundam.
Before you jump into conclusion, the MSN-04B Sazabi was 1 shot from being
destroyed before the prototype Nu's weapon overheated, giving the Sazabi
the chance it needed to turn the tides.